Summit Oncologist, Madison Biller Sentenced for Health Care Fraud

U.S. Attorney’s Office
December 07, 2012

Southern District of Mississippi(601) 965-4480

JACKSON, MS—Dr. Meera Sachdeva, 50, of Summit, Brittany McCoskey, 26, of Monticello, and Monica Weeks, 40, of Madison, were sentenced in U.S. District Court today on charges that they defrauded Medicare by submitting false claims for chemotherapy services, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen, and Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta.

Sachdeva, who owned and operated Rose Cancer Center in Summit, pled guilty in July 2012 to submitting claims for chemotherapy services that were supposedly rendered when she was out of the country. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and restitution in the amount of $8,168,524.72. The forfeiture of approximately $6 million and four parcels of property was also ordered.

McCoskey, who worked as the officer manager for Rose Cancer Center, pled guilty to making false statements on claims. She was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $55,068.83.

Weeks, who owned and operated The Medical Billing Group, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud by covering up false claims made by Sachdeva that were scheduled for an audit. She was sentenced to three years of probation with three months of home confinement and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $19,549.52.

Sachdeva admitted billing for more chemotherapy drugs than she actually purchased from drug suppliers from 2007 to 2011. Her patients believed that they were receiving an amount of chemotherapy medicine that was equal to the amount being billed to their respective health care benefit programs, but she was not providing each patient with the fully prescribed dosage of many of the billed chemotherapy drugs.

“The health care fraud perpetrated by these defendants was an abuse of public trust motivated by greed. We remain committed to protect the integrity of our health care system and will continue to strictly enforce our federal health care laws,” said United States Attorney Gregory K. Davis.

“This physician violated her duty to provide appropriate care for the patients at Rose Cancer Center,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General in Atlanta. “Our office takes quality of care concerns very seriously, and we will vigorously investigate any provider that shortchanges patients and steals from the Medicare Trust Fund.”

The case was investigated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.